Poetry PD

If you are beginning to ponder opening activities for the school year, consider including poetry. Poetry distills meaning, filtering the extraneous and crystalizing the essential. Poetry with a specific focus related to teaching and learning can clarify thoughts about important ideas and give voice to feelings that might otherwise be left unsaid. PD poetry can include a blend of opportunities for both collaboration and individual composing. Finding just the right words, as required by poetry, can set the stage for deep conversation.
 
I tried this idea as a way to think about coaching, What are its essential characteristics? Acrostic poetry, simple as it is, forces a focus on essential characteristics. Here are my essential characteristics of coaching, acrostic style:
 
Collaborative
Open
Approachable
Collegial
Honors expertise
Invitational
Non-evaluative
Growth mindset
 
Or take a look at coaching through Haiku:
 
Listening harder
Real concerns swirl and surface
We make the current
 
Whether your focus is classroom discussion, differentiation, the standards, or some other important idea, including poetry could be just the unexpected twist to get a professional development day off on the right foot and get innovative ideas flowing.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

The importance of teacher reflection:
 
https://www.thoughtco.com/importance-of-teacher-reflection-8322
 
 
Using checklists and guiding questions in coaching:
 
https://www.schoolstatus.com/blog/using-checklists-and-guiding-questions-in-coaching
 
 
Summer professional growth ideas for instructional coaches:
 
https://simplycoachingandteaching.com/blog/2021/06/16/summer-professional-development/
 
 
Build trust with teachers through clear expectations:
 
https://barkleypd.com/blog/building-trust-with-expectations/
 
 
Coaching teachers’ mindsets:
 
http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol16/num10/mindset-coaching-for-mental-health.aspx
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! TODAY you can still use the code: JUN2024 for 20% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!